Assessing faculty attitudes after participation in an interprofessional teaching scholars programme

ABSTRACT

Promoting interprofessional education (IPE) and practice is a priority in academic health centres; however, implementation of IPE can be challenging. Recognizing the need for faculty development in teaching, and specifically IPE, the University of California, Davis Schools of Health launched the Interprofessional Teaching Scholars Program (ITSP) in 2014. Two cohorts of 11 faculty scholars each completed the nine-month programme and participated in this longitudinal comparative study in which pre- and post-assessments using a validated survey instrument were administered to measure changes in faculty attitudes towards IPE and collaborative practice. There was a statistically significant increase in the summated scores on all three of the subscales: Attitudes Towards Interprofessional Health Care Teams, Attitudes Towards IPE, and Attitudes Towards Interprofessional Learning in the Academic Setting. The results suggest that the ITSP was associated with positive changes in faculty attitudes related to interprofessional collaboration and teamwork.

KEYWORDS:

• Evaluation research
• faculty development
• interprofessional education
• surveys

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge Cheryl Busman and Kelcie Rodriguez for their assistance with the ITSP and data management for this study.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.